The Austral the Multi-Role Corvette (MRC) would be a suitable platform for Anti-Piracy operations in our northern approaches the pacific and beyond. The multi-purpose decks give the MRC a very effective capability as a border control ship and in support of small landing parties.A MRC is able to carry any new RHIBs the SOCOMD acquires and transport SAS or 4RAR providing maritime mobility platform for Special Operations Command (SOCOMD)

Corvettes might be a good idea for coastal ASW so long as they are equipped with adequate weapons systems to deal with the modern submarine threat. That means an anti-air warfare system like SPY-1K which can deal with submarine launched missiles (I wonder if CEAFAR will be shrunk to Corvette size?) and ASW systems with adequate range to hit a sub with long range torpedos and missiles such as a helo (manned or unmanned) or anti submarine missiles. My question is whether both requirements can be fitted onto a small hull? (happy for an answer from anybody). Alternatively would a very fast Corvette that can quickly run down an enemy sub and hit it with lightweight torpedos be the answer?  If none of these options work I think we would be better off just getting more frigates.

The answer is that you can get two of the three requirements as long as you orient toward helo operations and forget about AAW except as point defense single layer addon.

 

I'm more interested in that OPV as an anti-pirate antidote in your AOs and in ours. Helos with rockets and a ship with a stop and search detachment and a hull big enough to carry an anti-surface ship gun yet cheap enough to replace that monstrosity called our USCG National Security  Cutter one for one? Sounds like an ideal 21st century gunboat to me. I like that idea. The USCG Deepwater fiasco has given me a love for things Austal like that.

 

Herald

 

 

Speed 35 knots - almost 10 knots  faster than the patrol boats!!! combined this with the stealthy superstructure and it becomes suited to chasing fast moving pirates/smugglers and submarines. (1)
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The trimaran design also allows high speeds in quite heavy seas and, equally important, the wide beam of a catamaran design allows helicopter operations in conditions where other ships would close down.  (2)

1. How exactly will excessive speed help in aiding ASW work? Nobody, sub or skimmer, goes around at risiculously high speed expecting to get too much help from thier Sonar.

And "stealth" simply means a reduced RCS. It does not make it invisible toeither radar nor the human eye, I dont think its usefulness in anti-piracy work is that far reaching.

 

2. Now here you must be taking the piss... Trimarans are shocking in any sort of sea state. Seeing Triton go through cyclone avoidance I honestly thought at times that I was gonna witness her entire crew buy the farm. At that moment you could not have paid me enough to swap my place in a patrol boat for thier place in hell.

 

 

Virginia's patrol at approx 21kt and the Collins would if they could but relying on batteries for submerged endurance that is not an option.

 

The RN likes to boost and coast in ASW ops with their towed arrays.

 

With the new deployable / disposable arrays under development an ASW vessel could scatter a couple of arrays around the patrol area and wait in the middle of the "web" like a spider ready to pounce on anything unlucky enough to be detected.

 

2. Now here you must be taking the piss... Trimarans are shocking in any sort of sea state. Seeing Triton go through cyclone avoidance I honestly thought at times that I was gonna witness her entire crew buy the farm. At that moment you could not have paid me enough to swap my place in a patrol boat for thier place in hell.

 

 

 

I don't see the point in building combat ships without some sort of PAR based AAW system nowdays. Anti-ship missiles are proliferating and even humble ASW vessels will need to deal with the threat of them lobbing half a dozen Exocets or whatever other Sub launched missile emerges. Without a decent AAW system on these ships we would have to send one of our larger vessels to escort them in performing their role, which defeats the purpose of having a corvette. If PAR and helos aren't possilble, then I'd rather see them go for PAR and anti-submarine missile than drop the PAR altogther. Alternatively it may be better just to buy more frigates.

The current threat is pirates and brigands. You still need your AAW frigates and your destroyers as carrier bodyguards and to shut the PRCs down at sea. But to chase the Malay, Filipino and Indonesian pirates in your area, plus to police patrol; the Solomons or work close inshore to some coast like Somolia, or work the Timor Sea or patrol near the Sundas, you need an old fashioned gunboat. Some people fail to recognize that the best cure for a pirate is a 57/70 exploding right over his boat and then a shark eyering him as he jumps into the water.  .

 

You cannot build an Arleigh on 1500 tons. When you reach that size and below, passive countermeasures work better against AShMs for you. Facts of life. CBA says you are better off silent at that size, trying to passive decoy than to light up and erngage an inbound.

Herald

 

 

 

 

 

You cannot build an Arleigh on 1500 tons. When you reach that size and below, passive countermeasures work better against AShMs for you. 

But you could use a Singaporean Victory Class - They already have a local phased array solution in place - replace their local solution with CEAFAR and AUSPAR and you have a feisty little bull terrier that can do disproportionate hurt to a lot of targets...

I imagine we could put two or three corvettes in the water with the manpower required for one frigate.  Our projected navy is very short on ship numbers.  If suitably armed, a corvette could do anti- submarine patrols, assist in escort duty, as well as patrolling and releasing our bigger ships from patrol work.

Many Western Navies have been aiming for fully capable multirole Frigates with crews as low as 50 for 20 years now, i.e. the YARD 50 Man Frigate concept from the late 80's, early 90's which aimed to provide the capability of a Type 23 (Duke Class) on a 140m 5000-6000t hull with only 50 crew.

 

Steel is cheap and air is free, look to operating and through life costs, including ease of refit / upgrade, above initial acquisition cost and above all never assume reducing the size of the hull will cut costs.

 

I see OPV's and Corvettes as long term replacements for Patrol Boats not Frigates.  Their increased size will improve sea keeping, crew accomodation, flexibility and overall capability, in that same way going from the Fremantles to the significantly larger Armidales did recently.  In the future a flight deck and hanger allowing the use of UAV's or even the temporary assignment of helo's / tilt rotors, together with the flexible internal spaces of the MRV and similar designs may be seen to be worth incorporating into an OPV replacement for the ACPB's. 

 

If you have the extra space and weight available on a class of OPV's and strategic circumstances change then you can start adding the necessary systems to suit.  I imagine if illegal fishing boats started lobbing ATGW's at ACPB's we would see a rapid upgrade to their combat system including decoys, extra RWS and maybe even some form of active defence suite.  Same thing would be easier in the future on a larger hull.

ah, but we're talking about littorals and anti-piracy actions - if we go state on state then bigger is more approp.  but if we want to cruise around the straits etc... then the singaporeans do have the right punch per weight for that loc already.

 

 

Littorals I would still rather have a Destroyer or Frigate with muliple RCS and perhaps a couple of Protector UNPV's and maybe a manned Fast Interceptor Craft.  Also Firescout and MH-60R/S.

 

Keep the Corvettes as an upgrade option for a future ACPB replacement OPV, should our region go as silly as the Horn of Africa has.

 

We could even look at getting something along the line of Singapores Endurance Class LPD's and use them as mother ships for swarms of Protectors, Firescouts, CB-90's and Fast Interceptor Craft in Littoral operations.  Something like that would really peeve the Captain Jack wanna be's.  Watch the patrol area with I-Views, zone in on the interesting targets with Protectors and Firescouts, board and seize confirmed pirates, or responde to attacks with CB-90's, Fast Interceptors and Helo's.